The Road Home
by Lord Cellytron
Summary: Karone's time as the Pink Ranger is over, but perhaps the road home isn't as direct as she thought it would be. POSSIBLE Karone/Cassie slash, I haven't decided yet. :P


Karone stared up at the sky that last morning on Mirinoi and she couldn't bring herself to say goodbye. Though they looked at her, curiously, gratefully, with love and acceptance, she couldn't meet their eyes. She looked upward, blinking, as though she were blinking back tears.

There were no tears. There should have been tears.

The others smiled at one another, indulging each other's affection for the sweet and gentle Second Pink Ranger. They loved her. And she loved them. Of course it was so, they said it often enough. She said it often enough.

Maya leaned in for a hug and Karone could feel as well as hear the girl's uncontrollable shuddering sobs as she said farewell to this girl she had known for such a short time, but to whom she had pledged eternal friendship.

"Take care of yourself. You're always welcome on Mirinoi," Maya whispered. She pulled back. Karone gave her a small smile.

"You're always welcome on KO35," she answered, appropriately. Too appropriately. She cringed at how artificial her words sounded. No one else noticed, did they? Surely not.

She wore black that last day. Not pink. Never pink again.

She needed to confront this feeling. The transport would be there soon. Andros was coming to get her, and he would know something was wrong.

As a woman who had finally achieved what was once her life's ambition, who had, truly, saved the entire universe, she should have been ecstatic. She should have been proud. She should have, at least, been happy. Fulfilled.

The others certainly were. They had soaked up the adoration and love as if it were oxygen. Even Kai, distant, stuffy, irritable Kai, gave a true and real smile to the young Mirinoi girl who had climbed on top of his shoulders and declared him her hero "forever and ever and ever and ever and ever".

It made no sense, did it? Here was what she had longed for for so long; a quiet, peaceful place that accepted her as she was, that loved her, that would never turn her away. A place where she could find a home of her own, a place where she could finally, once and for all, put these battles behind her.

She couldn't wait to get away.

It hadn't been like this on Terra Venture, had it? Terra Venture had suited her so well, hadn't it? Little rest. Cramped quarters. The uncertainty and instability of war. The undercurrent of tension, of desperation in everybody's eyes. The feeling that, even with her Ranger powers, she wasn't completely safe. And neither was anyone else. Even Leo, mighty Leo, with the spirit of a lion, was not invincible. He had barely escaped with his life. And so had she. And she loved it.

She was at her best when conditions were at their worst.

_Of course_, she realized wryly, _That's true. It's how I was trained._

Her training, since the age of six, had been rigorous. Unforgiving. Merciless. Safety, love, rest, consistency? The refuges of the weak. Only the strong were able to put such desires behind them and learn to truly love the austere, harsh conditions that came with a truly mighty spirit.

_I don't know how to relax._

It was this thought that was on her mind when she heard the footfalls behind her. She knew her morpher wasn't there, she knew she was defenseless and she knew that was how it was supposed to be. She knew she had no enemies on this planet, that she didn't need to sleep with one eye open, that no one would harm her. What a sickening feeling.

She turned around to meet the approaching ally. Always an ally now. Danger was a distant memory.

She met the woman's eyes. For just a moment, her mind lost its footing. For just a moment, she was confused.

The Pink Ranger?

The... _other_ Pink Ranger.

"So, it was you," Cassie Chan said quietly.

Cassie. Playful, light-hearted Cassie. Andros' Pink Ranger.

Decidedly an ally. Even a friend. Though it was not always so. They had been through much together; had shared similar pain, similar tears.

"It was you," Cassie continued, "That Kendrix chose."

"Cassie," Karone said dumbly. "What are you doing here?"

Cassie stepped forward with a hug and a strange little laugh.

"You guys saved the universe. I wanted to come and see how you did. You had some big boots to fill, but I guess you did alright."

It was a joke, of course. Karone smiled and looked down.

"Is Andros with you?"

"He's a little behind."

Karone gritted her teeth.

_Perfect._ Cassie would want to see everyone. Cassie would want to talk to everyone, congratulate everyone. Karone would have to present her, accompany her. Act as though she was having a good time. Endure the jokes, the stories, everyone's joy. Again. She could have screamed.

"He sent me to come get you, and we'll meet up with him later. You ready to go?" Cassie said suddenly.

Karone didn't know how to answer. Had Cassie already spoken to the other Rangers? How could Karone have missed her? Cassie was a difficult person not to notice. Even now, in the starched, militaristic uniform Andros had given her, all grey and white (and pink, of course), Cassie was fashionably noteworthy with bold eye makeup, a million little braids and a blue stripe in her hip-length hair, and elaborate earrings.

No, indeed, Karone couldn't have missed her.

"I... I'm ready," Karone said. "But are..."

"Great. Now, if I can just remember where I parked!"

Another joke.

Something wasn't right.

Cassie began walking, and Karone was acutely aware of the forced lightness in the girl's voice. The artificial carelessness of her steps. Cassie turned back and smiled brightly. Too brightly.

"Are you coming?"

"Did you..." Karone couldn't finish. The sudden hardening of Cassie's eyes silenced her.

Cassie was cordial. Inviting. Full of gossip, funny stories, properly executed giggles, updates on all the other Rangers.

TJ was growing a goatee ("Can you believe it? TJ? He thinks he looks so sexy. And, actually, he kind of does. I'd never tell him that, of course!"), Carlos had some girl from Stone Canyon that he was keeping very hush-hush ("They went out for drinks, and right to his face, she orders a passionfruit smoothie. I mean, can't you just imagine how he must have looked when she said that? I think she even left some of her stuff in his bathroom. I mean, you know what kind of stuff I mean. Yeah, he's whipped."), Ashley and Andros hadn't set a date yet ("You know what kind of date I mean."), but it looked like it would be soon, and Zhane was still single ("I think he bought a motorcycle... or he was going to. I don't know. He never tells me anything!").

Karone smiled, laughed, gasped in response, just as if she were reading a script.

She had watched Mirinoi disappear into the distance, turn into a tiny, fist-sized ball, then a marble, then a pinprick. And relief never came. Neither did sadness. She was left with only frustration and a distinct feeling of wrongness.

Cassie wouldn't stop talking. She barely stopped to breathe.

"Anyway, we'll meet up with Andros on Namar XII. He says the sky is purple there. I don't know if I believe that. You ever been?"

"No. I don't know. I don't remember."

"Anyway, Karone, you're so tan," Cassie said, stroking Karone's arm thoughtfully. "How did you get so tan living on a space station?"

"Cassie, what's going on?" Karone asked suddenly. "Why didn't-"

"You know, it's been so long. I was just dying to see you," Cassie interrupted, a little defensively. It was an automatic answer; she had obviously been planning it, even if it didn't exactly answer Karone's question.

"But... you came from Earth."

"Mmm-hmm."

"You came all the way from Earth, to pick me up off Mirinoi. You were there for all of five minutes."

Cassie smiled brilliantly.

"I just like you that much."

It didn't make sense.


End file.
